Socratic Seminars and the Paideia model EIS Page Scholar Shameen Syed shares her perspective on Socratic Seminars, following her recent study visit to the USA with the support of the EIS and the English Speaking Union (Scotland).
The Page Scholarship is a unique experience, offering educators the opportunity to immerse themselves in a funded research project for two weeks in the United States. I feel hugely privileged to have been the recipient of the scholarship for 2019-20. I teach RMPS and English at Kirkcudbright Academy, a wonderful school. I am indebted to Rector, Antony Tuffery who supported my decision to take this opportunity.
Background
Phoenix, Arizona
Charlotte, North Carolina
Having not seen success during my secondary education, has had a huge impact on how I view the purpose of education. I am a creative educator and like to explore different ways of engaging young people in the classroom. I strongly believe that education should be nurturing and supportive; developing and building on innate capacities. I was introduced to Socratic seminars at university and have at different times in my career tried to embed them into my practice.
I timed my visit to the US with a training opportunity that was being offered by the Paideia Institute in Phoenix Arizona. There are a number of Paideia schools in the US as well as public schools who deliver education based on the Paideia philosophy. In Paideia schools Socratic type seminars are an integral feature of the curriculum. I spent a day observing lessons at The Paideia Academy.
My final school was Community House Middle School. All the seminars that I observed had very definite themes. Regardless of the subject area all the seminars were values based. This was a key selling point for me as I believe that to develop values and a sound moral compass young people should be actively involved in experiences that challenge their own thoughts and opinions in a safe and nurturing environment.
Findings
Research project My research focused on two areas of interest: 1. Can Socratic seminars be used to manage challenging behaviours? 2. Do Socratic seminars give young people the tools to help them become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors? My initial internet based research led me to Terry Roberts. Terry is the Director of the National Paideia Institute in the US and author of The New Smart, an inspiring and relevant read for any educator. Terry helped me plan my trip by putting me in touch with schools he knew would share good practice and would be interested in my research.
Chattanooga, Tennessee I visited two schools in Chattanooga. The Chattanooga school for Liberal Arts and Chattanooga school for the Arts and Sciences. At CSLA seminars are a weekly event in all subject areas at all stages. At CSAS I had one of those ‘wow‘ moments when I visited a 2nd grade class. I asked them to tell me about seminars. They confidently told me about how they studied a text - ‘Yellow taxi ‘by Joni Mitchell. One girl interjected “because .. ya know, a text doesn’t haven’t to be writing.” They went on to tell me about their concerns for the environment and why bees needed protecting.
Since returning to Scotland I have started to use seminars in many of my classes. My trip to the US has not only enabled me to have initial training so that I can deliver Paideia seminars but it has inspired me to push myself and my pupil out of our comfort zones. I can confidently say that Socratic type ( Paideia ) seminars that I experienced in the US can only be a positive force in the classroom. This research trip has made me question what my role as a teacher is really all about. I have shared my thoughts and findings with exchange teachers from Norway, who are now trying out seminars too. I am also in the process of building a partnership with a school in Palestine which has been facilitated by the British Council and Parallel Histories and I hope we will be able explore complex narratives together
This article is a short summary of Shameen’s full Page Scholarship report. You can read the full report at: www.eis.org.uk/News/Page-Scholar-2019
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